Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 313

Still seemingly angry, Zhang Cuilan didn't speak softly. She even glanced towards the door, wondering if Wang Guixiang was listening outside.

Cheng Jinxiang remained silent for a while, pondering what Zhang Cuilan had said. She wasn't sure if Wang Guixiang really had a lover, but she was quite certain that Wang Guixiang had no money.

If Wang Guixiang is the only one unwilling to return the money to herself and Tiesheng, then the amount is too large for her to repay. After all, it's tens of thousands of yuan, which is a considerable sum. What about Zhang Cuilan's family?

They only had a few thousand yuan with Wang Guixiang, and Wang Guixiang favored them more. If even they couldn't get their money back, it could only mean one thing: Wang Guixiang didn't have a single penny on her.

Seeing that Cheng Jinxiang was thinking, Zhang Cuilan assumed that she was worried that the matter would damage the Zhao family's reputation and therefore dared not make a big fuss. She directly advised, "Second sister-in-law, you have tens of thousands of yuan with Mom. Haven't you thought about getting it back?"

Cheng Jinxiang frowned and replied, "I want it back, I dream about it, but do you think I can get it back? Even Mom won't give the money back to you, so how can she give it back to me?"

Seeing this, Zhang Cuilan immediately encouraged, "Second sister-in-law, let's expose this matter during dinner and force Mom to return the money to us."

Cheng Jinxiang asked, "You mean to tell everyone that Mom has a lover? But are you sure it's true? What if it's false? Wouldn't Mom's reputation and the Zhao family's reputation be ruined?"

Although Cheng Jinxiang disliked Wang Guixiang, she couldn't bring herself to get the money by slandering her. Besides, her two daughters were surnamed Zhao, and the Zhao family had a bad reputation. Who would dare to marry her daughters in the future?

Cheng Jinxiang had too many concerns, and Zhang Cuilan couldn't stand it anymore. She directly voiced her thoughts, "Second sister-in-law, I don't necessarily want to expose Mom's affair, but I want to force her to admit it. You and I both know that Mom doesn't pay back the money because she doesn't have any. Such a large sum of money has disappeared, so there must be a reason why. We'll force Mom to pay back the money at the dinner table. If Mom doesn't pay back the money, I'll say that I accidentally saw Mom meeting with her lover and giving him money. Although I didn't see the lover's face clearly, he's definitely not a good person sneaking around at night."

Zhang Cuilan heard it from Zhao Da'e. She thought Cheng Jinxiang would know, but Cheng Jinxiang actually interpreted it as Zhang Cuilan secretly seeing Wang Guixiang meeting with her lover, which is why she was so sure that Wang Guixiang was having an affair.

"You mean you want to expose Mom's affair? Dad's home tonight too. Is it okay for us to make such a big fuss? Besides, we're not even sure if Mom has a lover." Cheng Jinxiang was a little worried. It wasn't a good time to cause trouble during the New Year.

Zhang Cuilan was exasperated by Cheng Jinxiang's cowardly behavior. She had thought Cheng Jinxiang would be more assertive and join her in causing trouble to get the money back, but Cheng Jinxiang's hesitation and indecisiveness were unbearable to watch.

"Second sister-in-law, I'm not trying to be mean, but you and second brother entrusted tens of thousands of yuan to Mom, and she gave the money to an outsider. Don't you want it back? And even if I don't say it's a lover, I'm sure I'm right to say it's an outsider. Maybe it's some random man. It all depends on what Dad thinks. Think about it again. I'll say that Mom was having an affair and gave all the family's money to that outsider. When Dad finds out, he'll make a scene and force Mom to reveal who that outsider is. Once we know who that outsider is, we'll go and cause trouble together to demand our money back."

Zhang Cuilan dragged Cheng Jinxiang along because she thought Cheng Jinxiang had more money on Wang Guixiang. If she dragged Cheng Jinxiang along to ask for the money back, Cheng Jinxiang would definitely go and work harder than she would. But she would definitely be the one to get the money back first, since she only had a few thousand yuan, while Cheng Jinxiang had tens of thousands of yuan, which Cheng Jinxiang probably couldn't even afford to pay back.

Zhang Cuilan had this plan in mind; she was determined to get the money back eventually!

Cheng Jinxiang no longer hesitated. They were about to build a new house, and she was short of money. She also didn't want Zhao Da'e to keep running around doing the water-selling business. "Okay, we'll ask Mom for this money together at the dinner table and find out who that outsider is. I definitely have to get this money back!"

Cheng Jinxiang's eyes were full of determination. Zhang Cuilan smiled when she saw this. She had brought over an accomplice. Perfect!

It's almost lunchtime, but the atmosphere at dinner is a bit strange today.

Wang Guixiang was terrified of being constantly extorted for money by Zhang Cuilan, so she kept her distance from Zhang Cuilan.

Zhao Dage had just had a conflict with Zhao Tiesheng, and seeing that Zhao Tiesheng was uncomfortable, he sat directly next to Cheng Jinxiang instead of sitting between Cheng Jinxiang and Zhao Tiesheng.

Zhao Tiesheng felt irritated. He wanted to say a few words to Cheng Jinxiang next to him, but Cheng Jinxiang wouldn't even give him a glance.

Zhang Cuilan kept staring at Wang Guixiang, wondering to whom the money in Wang Guixiang's hand had been given.

Zhao Tingxu felt something was off, but couldn't quite put his finger on it, so he quickly said, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and eat."

With the most authoritative person in the family speaking up, the youngest, Zhao Yongbo, felt relieved and quickly started eating heartily from his bowl. The atmosphere had been so strange just now that he was too embarrassed to speak or eat. Now that his grandfather had spoken, he had no more reservations and began to eat without hesitation.

Zhao Tingxu started eating as well. Before eating, he looked at Cheng Jinxiang and said with dissatisfaction, "Tiesheng's wife, you've been staying at your parents' home for too long. It's time to come back. Do you know that because of your willfulness, outsiders are saying that our Zhao family has mistreated you? I don't know where to put my old face. I actually married into the Zhao family, so just live a good life and stop causing trouble all the time."

Zhao Tingxu showed no mercy to Cheng Jinxiang, directly berating her for always causing trouble.

Cheng Jinxiang's heart sank. She regretted her decision to return to the Zhao family. Wasn't this just a case of Chun Chun coming back to get scolded?

Cheng Jinxiang glanced at Zhao Tiesheng next to her, but Zhao Tiesheng kept his head down and ate, as if he hadn't seen Cheng Jinxiang being scolded. What Zhao Tingxu said was what Zhao Tiesheng was angry about.

Seeing that Zhao Tiesheng had no intention of helping her, Cheng Jinxiang's heart grew even colder. She shouldn't have any expectations of this man. The people she should rely on most were herself and her two daughters!

Cheng Jinxiang immediately retorted, "Dad, let me be frank, I won't come back until the new house is built. That old storage shed is so dilapidated and drafty, how can we live there? Besides, I just gave birth to Xiaojuan not long ago, and I need to take good care of my health. I can't afford to catch a cold. Tiesheng is also the second son in the family, so you should consider contributing money to build him a new house. But don't worry, it's not really up to you to pay for it. Didn't Tiesheng and I put all our money with Mom before? It's almost tens of thousands of yuan. I want to bring it all back this time to build the new house."

Zhang Cuilan's eyes widened, seemingly completely surprised that Cheng Jinxiang would bring this matter up in public this time.

She quickly said, "Cheng Jinxiang, have you no shame? You can't get money from me, so you go to my husband for money. I've already said that there's no rush to build a new house. If you don't want to give me money, you don't want to give me money. Why are you still so persistent? The storeroom is just a bit old, but it's still habitable. I think you're just being pretentious and can't stand hardship. Our Zhao family is really unlucky to have married a wife like you."

Wang Guixiang's scolding was so fierce that she hoped to dispel Cheng Jinxiang's desire for money.

Zhao Tingxu also said, "Tiesheng's wife, building a new house can't be rushed. Tiesheng can live in that storeroom, so why can't you?"

To be honest, Zhao Tingxu didn't want to return the money to Cheng Jinxiang either. It was tens of thousands of yuan; wouldn't it be better to keep it for himself? He figured he could just drag it out until the end, since he was their father and not returning it wouldn't cause any problems.

Wang Guixiang and Zhao Tingxu both expressed the same unwillingness to return the money. Cheng Jinxiang's eyes turned cold. She reached out and tugged at Zhao Tiesheng, whispering to him, "Do you still want this 40,000 yuan back? If you do, then speak up for me."

Seeing this, Zhao Tiesheng pursed his lips. No matter how angry he was, he couldn't let money get the better of him. So he said, "Mom and Dad, just give this money back to me and Jinxiang. I put the money with you and we agreed that we would take it out when we built our new house. Now that I need this money, please ask Mom to take it out."

Cheng Jinxiang and Zhang Cuilan exchanged a glance. Zhang Cuilan knew it was her turn to speak, so she quickly said, "Mom and Dad, not only do my second brother and sister-in-law want to build a new house, but Tiegang and I also want to build a new house. I want to build a room for your grandson as soon as possible so that he can live comfortably. So I also want to take out the several thousand yuan that I left with Mom."

When Wang Guixiang saw that Zhao Tiesheng and Zhang Cuilan were both bringing up this matter together to ask for money, she was so angry that she could hardly breathe. "Fine, you two! I think you did this on purpose, choosing this time to ask me for money. You can ask your father yourselves. If he wants to give it to you, I naturally have no objection."

Zhang Cuilan's eyes lit up. "Looking for Dad is great! I refuse to believe I can't get the money back!" Just as Zhang Cuilan was about to speak, Zhao Tingxu slammed his hand on the table and roared, "Are you all in such a hurry to move out? I'm not dead yet! I'm not going to pay for anyone's new house. If you need money, go get it from someone else, don't come to me!"

Zhao Tingxu and Wang Guixiang passed the buck, neither wanting to get involved. Zhao Tiesheng was stunned for a while. His mother wasn't giving him money, and his father wasn't giving him money either. What kind of situation was this? Could he get back the tens of thousands of yuan he had left with his mother?

Cheng Jinxiang and Zhang Cuilan exchanged a knowing glance. Zhang Cuilan knew that her father-in-law didn't want to get involved, so she spoke slowly and without ceremony, "Dad, I don't really want the money back. The reason my second sister-in-law and I brought up the money at the dinner table today is mainly because... we have some unspeakable difficulties. It's not something we can easily talk about."

Zhao Tingxu snorted coldly and said, "What unspeakable troubles do you have? In the end, it all comes down to wanting money to build you new houses, doesn't it?"

Zhang Cuilan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Dad, this is something we can't talk about."

Even Cheng Jinxiang said, "We're afraid that if we tell you about this, Dad, you'll be angry."

The more Zhang Cuilan and Cheng Jinxiang hesitated and couldn't speak, the more Zhao Tingxu wanted to know what had happened. "What is it that you can't tell me? Are you afraid I'll get angry? Tell me, I want to see if this will make me angry."

Zhang Cuilan glanced at Cheng Jinxiang, wanting her to speak first and be the bad guy, but despite Zhang Cuilan's hints, Cheng Jinxiang pretended not to see them and kept looking at Zhao Tingxu and Wang Guixiang without saying a word.

Zhao Tingxu noticed Zhang Cuilan's unusual behavior and said directly to Cheng Jinxiang, "Jinxiang, you go first."

Cheng Jinxiang looked slightly surprised, and pretended to be hesitant, "Dad, I don't know much about this either. You should ask Cuilan; she knows more."

Seeing this, Zhao Tingxu had no choice but to turn to Zhang Cuilan and say, "Then tell me, what exactly is it?"

Wang Guixiang also looked over curiously, wanting to see what these people would say to get the money.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Cuilan almost coughed up blood. She had heard from Zhao Dage that the money had been given to outsiders, and she assumed that Cheng Jinxiang, as her aunt, knew better than she did. Now, Cheng Jinxiang was denying any knowledge of the matter and making her the villain.

But since Zhao Tingxu had spoken, Zhang Cuilan couldn't remain silent. She could only bite the bullet and say, "My second sister-in-law and I were so eager to get the money back because we knew that the money we had entrusted to Mom was gone and had been given to outsiders!"

Upon hearing this, everyone except Cheng Jinxiang and Zhao Dage looked shocked, even Wang Guixiang was surprised.

Wang Guixiang thought to herself, "Give it to an outsider? Is Chunqin an outsider? No, she's clearly family!"

Zhao Tingxu was also shocked. He obviously didn't believe Zhang Cuilan's explanation. After decades of marriage, he couldn't believe that Wang Guixiang would be so foolish as to give money to outsiders.

Zhao Tiesheng, however, reacted strongly. He said incredulously, "Mom, you've been refusing to give money because you've given it all to outsiders—forty or fifty thousand yuan! You gave it all to outsiders?!"

After all, the money was earned through hard work by himself and Jinxiang. If it were in the hands of his own family, Zhao Tiesheng would feel more at ease. But upon learning that the money had fallen into the hands of outsiders, Zhao Tiesheng couldn't sit still no matter what.

Wang Guixiang retorted instinctively, "You're talking nonsense! How could I have given this money to outsiders?!" It was clearly given to her own family!

But Wang Guixiang just couldn't bring herself to say the second half of the sentence, because if she did, it would surely cause a scene.

Hearing Wang Guixiang's words, Zhang Cuilan's eyes lit up. She countered, "Then Mom, let me ask you, where did the money we entrusted to you go?"

Wang Guixiang felt a little guilty and didn't dare to look Zhang Cuilan in the eye. She stammered, "Of course the money is on my side. What's the rush? It's not like I'm not going to pay you back."

The money is all with her youngest daughter now. Anyway, she'll get it all back. It's not that she won't return the money to them. Wang Guixiang felt that this made sense and gave her some confidence.